Some people get sick when they try to read on the road, others do so happily, but if you're one of those people who can't read a single page without feeling dizzy, then know that there's a reason for that.
Apparently, the brain thinks it is being poisoned.
The Science of Us explains in great detail from an interview with neuroscientist and author Dean Burnet on NPR. In short, it all starts with the thalamus, a part of the brain that is responsible for interpreting sensory signals.
When you are moving normally or moving, your body and brain receive the same signals as when you are moving, you feel the rumble or the distance you are covering. When you are moving, but also reading, things are different and those signals are interpreted, Telegraph reports.
So here the brain is getting mixed messages. It is receiving signals from the muscles and eyes that say we are standing still and signals from the balance sensors that say we are moving. Both of these cannot be correct. A sensor mismatch occurs here.
And, in evolutionary terms, the only thing that can cause a sensor mismatch like that is a neurotoxin or poison. Therefore the brain thinks you are being poisoned.
When you get poisoned, the first thing you do to get rid of the poison is vomit. And, as a result, as soon as the brain is confused by such things, it says, "oh, I don't know what to do, just sick, just in case of need..."
So we get motion sickness because the brain is constantly worrying that we are being poisoned.
For some people this reaction is stronger than others. If you're already driving, you can look out the window and watch the world go by, which will calm that sick response. For others, reading on the train is no problem, because you can look up every now and then and realize you're moving - but for others, just focus on a page and "tune out" the rest of the world (and the other visual sensor of information), it becomes very bad for them.
Normally, explaining what happens does not explain why it happens to some people and not others. Some people are more prone to not be sensitive to that reaction, while others are more unable to cope with it. /Telegraph/
